Let’s start with the Swarovski decorated fireplace from Napoleon. Really who needs this? I forget we are in Vegas.

Stagecoach – Wells Fargo doesn’t hold backObama – Our president has his hands full but he took time to promote CFLs at the show.Bobsled – Interesting tie-in with Lumber Liquidators but so is Colbert and speed skating.Builder who can’t swing a hammer – This dude was going wild hacking at nails at the Stiletto Tools booth. Said he was a builder. Wouldn’t want him touching my house. (note the Stiletto Tools founder, Mark Martinez, watching in dismay).Geeks – We saw our share of geeks at CES last week but this programmer from bidformaterials.com was a refreshing change from the usual “sales and marketing” flacks who man most booths.Elevators – If trends say we are moving away from McMansions and overbuilds, then why were there so many elevators companies on display?

Timothy’s background includes stints at This Old House, ELLE DECOR, Metropolitan Home and Woman’s Day. His work has been published on Wired Design, Bob Vila, DIY Network, The Family Handyman and Popular Mechanics and he has been featured on the Martha Stewart radio show and as a speaker at the ALT Design Summit, K/BIS and the National Hardware Show.